Rebellion from Outside the Margins: Representation of de-notified tribe and Questions of Identity in Fandry (2013)

ABSTRACT

Fandry (2013) is the first feature film written and directed by Nagraj Manjule. The film received a national award for the best debut director and several accolades in national and international film festivals. This paper offers introductory remarks on the representation of the de-notified tribe- Kaikadi in the film Fandry (2013). It starts with the observation about the social location of de-notified tribes and stigmatization around these communities and how Fandry as a film becomes a vehicle of resistance and formation of defiant identity. I also offer a critical reading of contemporary scholarship on Fandry, which overlooks the de-notified tribe identity and appropriates the struggle in the film with the larger Dalit struggle and caste issues. While the Dalit framework forms the background of the film, I argue that Manjule, through his film Fandry, is asserting personhood by bringing in lived experiences in his cinematic narrative.

KEYWORDS:

• De-notified tribes
• Dalit
• representation
• identity
• Marathi cinema
• contested citizenship
• personhood

Acknowledgement

I am thankful to Prof Rachel Dwyer for her suggestions and careful reading of the paper. I also want to thank Dr Swapna Gopinath for her support and all the reviewers for their insightful suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Literally meaning ‘People in majority’, referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes (OBC).

2. Kaikadi tribe is listed as de-notified tribe under Habitual Offenders Act. See (Ghatage).

3. Vadar is a de-notified tribe, which traditionally did stonework and other masonry jobs.

4. Thakar is a scheduled tribe of India scattered all around the forests of Maharashtra and Karnataka border.

5. Mahars were one of the first Dalit caste employed in the British Army, hence many were educated and also acquired land thereby forming a Mahar aristocracy within the Dalits of Konkan.

6. Folk dramas and dance performances, wherein dance style is borrowed from Kathak and local folk dances.

7. Shahiri tradition Maharashtra refers to bards who compose and sing historical events and even folklore. (Rege).

8. Powadas are a kind of ballad written in a unique lyrical style that narrate historical events in an inspiring manner(Rege).

9. Translated and paraphrased by Rutuja Deshmukh from the Marathi bildungsroman by Laxman Mane, written in 1980.

10. Mahars were considered the untouchable caste in Hinduism.

11. Translated and paraphrased by Rutuja Deshmukh from the Marathi bildungsroman by Laxman Mane, written in 1980.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rutuja Deshmukh

Rutuja Deshmukh is a visiting faculty at Savitribai Phule Pune University and FLAME University, Pune. She teaches film, culture, and communication. She is currently a doctoral candidate at SIMC, Pune. She is the co-editor of the book- Historicizing Myths in Contemporary India: Cinematic Representations and Nationalist Agendas in Hindi Cinema (Routledge, UK).